


The Cage Dwelling Courier 6

by pristinepastel



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-27 21:42:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20052988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pristinepastel/pseuds/pristinepastel
Summary: A series of drabbles focussing on Sally Li May, courier, ghoul, and last (non-feral) surviving member of the Cage Dweller tribe of the Mojave wasteland.





	1. The Courier, from the outside

The courier seems an open book to those who don’t know her. She’s not too bright, she’s exuberant, hyper, dramatic, always smiling- her scar that splits her lip stretching the expression to just barely unsettling ways. People think they know her entirely when they hear about her through reputation. Always willing to help, diligent despite her spaciness, good for a laugh- someone to count on, to hoist their troubles onto.

Those that are closest to her understand that they barely know her at all. They notice the moments when her personality shifts- when she suddenly goes from carefree to bloodthirsty when dealing with fiends and particularly corrupt raiders, the flash of cold and stone-faced fury when she deals with the legion. 

They see the short bouts of clarity where she suddenly knows too much- the sadness, how she slumps as if remembering a pain she’d forgotten, when she pauses and stares a bit too long over the edge of a cliff. Then as quickly as the mood struck her, it’s gone again- she shakes herself out of it, confused as if she had no memory of what she’d just been doing. They wonder which version of her was the original- if the sadness had come from the gunshot she’d taken to her temple, or if the happy and off-kilter version of her is the result of losing sight of what had hurt in the first place. When they see the sudden clarity and utter tragedy in her eyes during those moments, they’re not sure which is worse.


	2. The Cage Dwellers: A Brief Synopsis

The Cage Dwellers were a tribe descended from people held captive in a Chinese internment camp southeast of South Vegas that survived the bombs falling, close to where the Ant Mound can now be found in the Mojave Wasteland. The soldiers who originally guarded the camp fled when the sirens started blaring. 

The first dwellers were all fitted with bomb collars that would explode if they tried to leave, so they were still trapped there. As the years went by, more children were born who could leave without fear, and some did, but most stayed.

They were called the Cage Dwellers due to the fact that they lived in a cramped town surrounded by high chain linked fences covered in barbed wire. Their culture was matriarchal, with great respect given to the Elders in the tribe. When the yao guāi started appearing in the Mojave, they were the ones who first named them. Their signature weapons were spiked bats, wrapped in barbed wire from the Cage.

They mostly used a hybrid of cantonese and mandarin- many of the original dwellers couldn’t speak english. However over time, some members took on the role of translator, and as a result those who got the hang of it were more likely to go on trade runs.

Members usually had stereotypically english names with some Chinese characters mixed in or replacing certain parts- for example, Sally “Li” May instead of Sally “Lee” May. Within the tribe itself, members also had true names consisting of the original meaning of the chinese names they’d mixed in. (for instance, Sally Li May’s true name translates to Pretty Rose)

Their signature armor was a Qi Pao/Cheongsam Top, partnered with either loose pants or a skirt. Over this is a leather chest-guard(that laces up the sides) and tabard, secures with a waistcord, an umpire helmet, as well as knee and shoulder pads. The leather armor was salvaged and repurposed from the abandoned guard posts, and the knee and shoulder pads were from the storage shed- the same place the bats were sourced from.

When a child became of age- 18 usually- they were given the opportunity to climb out of the Cage. If successful, they were given their own bat, wrapped in the barbed wire from the section they climbed. They were given an opportunity to leave for a time, to travel and learn about the surrounding wastes. However, many chose to never leave again after coming back due to the attitude people in the Mojave had against the Chinese, still prevailing over a hundred years after the bombs. Some still braved the waste from time to time for trade with more accepting caravans, but returned quickly. As a result, the Cage Dwellers were considered a rather insular tribe.

Cage Dwellers tended to keep a long distance between themselves and radios, as the original tribe members’ collars would react strongly to radios and speakers. They feared an entity called “The Authority”, which they believed would take them away if they tried to leave through the Cage’s gate. This is why they always climbed over it- they believed the Authority couldn’t see them that way.

The tribe was eventually slaughtered by a group of tribal fiends/raiders. The only survivors was a single family consisting of an Elder, two parents, a little boy, and a teenage girl named Sally Li May. 

They ended up taking shelter in the Central Sewers under the South Vegas ruins, which was severely irradiated. Over the course of a year, the entire family became ghoulified, and all except for Sally were feral. At age twenty, Sally returned to her former home to avenge her tribe and family, slaughtering every single raider. 

Once they were all killed and their bodies were all either burned or devoured, she brought her family back there to make themselves at home again. After cleaning up the Cage, and memorializing the rest of her tribe, she left her home behind- eventually becoming Courier Six in 2220, and continued until one botched murder attempt in 2281...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The signature armor and weapon was heavily inspired by the popularity of baseball in japanese internment camps during world war ii- still widespread despite the circumstances. It wasn’t a stretch to believe the same would be true in the fallout universe, especially with how big a part it plays with certain npcs in the series.


	3. From Pretty Rose to Sally Li May

Sally Li May is slightly above average in height (5'8"), and a little over 120 pounds. Her skin is rather peach-toned for a ghoul, with the average warped texture and smattering of sunspots and freckles popping out against the pink. Her face is angular, with sharp cheekbones and a pointy chin, and a scar that splits her the right side of her upper lip and exposing her gums. Her teeth are as yellow as to be expected for a ghoul living in the Mojave, and her canines are slightly sharpened- they were like this before she even became ghoulish, however. Her nose, which used to be mostly straight, is missing and what remains of the bridge of it juts out, leading nowhere. Her eyes are solid black, like eight-balls whose labels have worn off with age but haven't lost their glossy texture. They're usually pinched in her expressions- you can always tell her mood by her eyes. If they don't match the rest of her face, the expression is fake. Her black hair is patchy and missing large chunks, with whats left being tied into asymmetrical pigtails, tied with old ribbon. She has a small selection of ribbons she cycles through day-to-day. The hair itself is surprisingly long for a ghoul, and when loose it almost reaches her shoulders. She likes shaking her head to feel it smack her in the face sometimes. She found an old key-chain a long while back- a big shooting star- that she's fashioned into an admittedly clunky earring that she's clipped onto her right ear, which is the only one with enough of an earlobe. It's tarnished an old- definitely pre-war- every so often she paints it to keep it colorful. She says its there to add to her charm, which is true- but mostly its because stars are her favorite shape.

She's most often seen wearing a Qipao-style sleeveless top, with a large skirt that's secured at the waist with a sash, and high-top sneakers whose eyelets are so damaged shes taken to wrapping the shoelaces around the shoes to keep them secured. Over it, she wears knee pads and elbow pads- while she's reckless in battle, she absolutely detests the sensation of being hit in the funny bone. Finally, she wears a duster that she's customized herself- where she originally found it isn't widely known, as shes covered whatever symbol was on the back with a star-shaped patch of old fabric- and a pair of finger-less gloves. She's used the same fabric to patch up torn seams and general wear-and-tear throughout the entire jacket. She always wears it with the sleeves rolled up- it's a little big for her, and she wouldn't be able to grip her weapons properly with the sleeves covering her hands. Her weapon is a baseball bat she's named Rhubarb-Shot- she earned it when she completed her tribe's coming-of-age ceremony at 17, and has used it ever since. The wood at the end has been stained an almost black cherry red, and the barbed wire and nails are bent and rusty with old blood. The hilt has been wrapped in old sun-bleached leather, and tied into a bow. As backup, she tends to draw towards shotguns and rifles, but she prefers being up close and personal to long-range.

* * *

Pretty Rose was born the 21st of October, 2185, long before the events leading up to the start of the Legion or the NCR- in fact, she was born before the events of fallout 2. She grew up among the Cage Dwellers, south of Vegas. Her childhood was a good one. She was more focused when she was little- she tried to follow her elders lessons, and keep out of trouble, but even then she was energetic and curious. She'd even managed to try climbing the Cage before she was old enough a couple times, but never made it past the barbed wire. Her mother, Wise Jade, would scold her while bandaging her hands, but then she'd hug her to help her feel better. When she was twelve, her baby brother Gentle Rain was born. She adored him to pieces- she loved how squishy and pink he was when she first got to meet him. At this point, her father Mountain Spring began teaching her how to defend herself- if she wanted to protect her brother, he'd show her how, he'd said. And so it began- Pretty Rose was a dedicated student, following her father's guidance to a T, working to improve her abilities to the point where nothing could hurt her family. 

By the time she was eighteen, she was more than ready for her coming-of-age ceremony. Unlike her last attempts, this one succeeded. After clipping a length of barbed wire from the top of the Cage, she jumped down over too the other side. Her family was very proud, and Gentle Rain- now six- was awestruck. He wanted to be just like Pretty Rose when he was older.

The happy life they'd had, of course, would not end up lasting much longer.

One night, a year after Pretty Rose had come of age, she woke up to screams. Peaking out the window, she saw flames coming from the entrance of the Cage, and strange people in sharp armor were chasing the other members of her tribe through the village with torches, knives, guns, odd contraptions on their fists- whoever these people were, they were evil. As much as she wanted to stay and fight them out of the village, she knew she wasn't strong enough. Not only that, but she couldn't bear to leave her family undefended. Quietly, she found her parents, her brother, and her grandmother, Bright Pearl, and stealthily snuck out of the village and over the Cage. They ran for days, sure that they would soon be found, whether by those fiends or some other monster, until they found an entrance to the sewers in the ruins of South Vegas. Believing that anywhere would be safer than what they just escaped, they decided to hide there for a couple of days. Then they got sick- starting with Bright Pearl, then Wise Jade, then Mountain Spring, Gentle Rain, and finally Pretty Rose. The days turned into weeks, so they could recover from this strange illness. 

The weeks turned into months. Her parents lost their sanity first, before they lost their appearance. Pretty Rose had to knock them out to pacify them, restrain them, hoping that when they woke up their hallucinations would stop.

They didn't. Her grandmother was next. She lost her ability to speak, only moaning and gurgling, growling instead of soothing Pretty Rose and Gentle Rain with her lullabies and stories. One day, Pretty Rose woke up and noticed Gentle Rain's eyes go cloudy.

The months went on. In the end, only Pretty Rose kept her sanity, even though she lost everything else. As her appearance, and her family's appearance shifted to something strange and unusual, her mind changed as well. She kept her sanity- mostly. It was a close thing. Sometimes, she thought she could hear them talking to her, and she'd always respond. Questions about her day, if she was alright. Other times, she felt she couldn't recognize them at all.

The months became a year. She was done hiding.

Rhubarb-Shot in hand, she led what remained of her family to the edge of the cage. It was a hot day, sweltering even. The fiends were weathering the temperature inside, asleep. Suited her just fine.

They killed them all.

* * *

Taking a week or so cleaning up the cage- disposing of the slightly gnawed-upon corpses, and what not- refortifying it so it wouldn't be overtaken ever again, and burying the bodies of the rest of her tribe that had been killed that first night. The fiends had left them to rot outside, and she almost wanted to kill them again for it.

Satisfied, she kissed her family goodbye, and hugged Gentle Rain extra tight, even though he couldn't hug back anymore.

Pretty Rose- now Sally Li May- then left the cage for good.

She goes back to visit every ten years.

She wandered a while, taking odd jobs and bounties wherever she could- she learned what ghouls were, and that not many people liked them. Oh well.

And when she found out about the Mojave Express at age 34, she jumped at the opportunity.


	4. The Expressions of Courier Six

“Ah- Courier!” Sally looks up, as a member of the NCR approaches her. Her eyes are flat for a moment, even as her face creases with a smile, then suddenly a light goes up behind her eyes, and they squint as she finally remembers who she’s smiling at.

“Oh! If it ain’t Hayes, good to see ya again!” Arcade gives her an odd look. How’s she forget the person she’d just spoken to five minutes ago?

* * *

Veronica can’t quite put her finger on why, but something was off about Sally’s smile towards the soldiers as they left the bunker. Her eyes, that was it- don’t they usually scrunch up when she smiles? After getting farther away, the smile drops into a scowl.

“Um, Courier?”

“They shouldn’t talk to ya like that! Family shouldn’t be like that.” Sally stomps her foot, with a huff. Then, she turns back to Veronica with a sheepish smile- this one reaches her eyes. “I’m sorry it didn’t go as good as ya wanted, V... I know most Brotherhood types don’t like folks like me.”

Veronica sighs, replying with a smile of her own. “That’s alright, I’m the one who asked you to come. I’ll be alright.” Sally perks up a bit.

“That’s good! Wanna head back to Sloan? We’ll get ya some good food and another dress, that should perk ya right up!” Veronica laughs, and agrees.

Sally always knows how to cheer her up.  


* * *

Screeching, she throws herself into the fray, Rhubarb-Shot bashing in every skull-adorned head it sees. There seems to be no one behind her eyes now, simply pure and unadulterated fury and instinct- almost feral. Then, as soon as the fight began, it ends. She pants for a moment, stuck in place. Her face, empty. Then, she suddenly goes back to her usual mood- as if she’d just popped back into existence- and starts rifling through the pockets of the dead fiends, rambling nonsense at her companions as she does.

Lily doesn’t comment on it- she understands. Leo can get the best of her, too.

* * *

The Courier and Boone don’t talk as they approach Cottonwood. This is normal, when they deal with the Legion. He never thinks to ask why she’s as hateful towards them as she is, never saw a need to. They have the same goal, after all. An understanding. Sometimes he wonders why her expression is that brand of cold, stoic, fury- but better left alone after all. Some memories are best left forgotten.

* * *

They’d walked in comfortable silence a while, Sally whistling as they went down the wreckage leading deeper into the ruins of the Divide. Suddenly, the rebar beneath her buckles, and she falls through, cutting off her tune sharply.

Ulysses barely catches her arm in a tight-enough grip in time. He expects her to laugh and clamber up, maybe make a joke about watching their step, but she doesn’t. Doesn’t even twitch.

She stares downwards, at where she almost landed after a long fall. She’s silent- completely silent, as he’s never heard her before. Usually, she makes small noises even when she doesn’t talk. Chuffs, humming, whistling- she’d never been so quiet before.

When she looks up, even her expression is silent. There is no expression on her face, no hint to what she’s thinking.

Then, a moment of recognition, as if she’d just remembered who he was, and where they were.

Her face crumbles, her eyes suddenly showing a deep, and profound sadness- the kind that comes when you’ve seen too much, been hurt too badly. When everything you’ve ever loved has gone missing.

Ulysses pulls her back up and on to steady ground, unable to meet her gaze any longer. For a while, neither says anything.

Then, the courier twitches, snorting as if she’d just woken up from a dream. “Wha-? Why’d we stop? Did you see somethin’?”

Looking back at her again, he’s struck by how quickly she has gone back to her normal self. She notices his expression.

“What’s up? There somethin’ on my face?”

He shakes his head after a moment, resuming his trek down.

“Wha- wait up, Ulysses!”

He makes sure to inspect where they step more closely this time.


End file.
